We begin again
by doctorwhofan12345
Summary: when Clem, Jane and AJ leave Howe's behind and join up with a new group they hope against hope that things might, just might be okay. by this point, they really should know better.
1. Chapter 1

The Walking Dead

We begin again.

Chapter 1

Jane sighed as unzipped her jacket and folded it into a corner. The run into town had been completely unsuccessful, no food, no medicine, no anything. She was starting to think that Howe's had run it's course.

"You're back." Jane looked up and smiled as she saw Clementine approach with AJ in her arms. "How did it go?" She asked as she shifted the baby in to a more comfortable position after he whimpered.

"Pretty bad." Jane admitted as the two moved deeper into the hardware store, she sighed deeply and rubbed her short hair. "This is really bad Clem, I'm not going to lie, were running out of food, the walkers are gathering in town and we aren't going to be able to hold this place with just the two of us."

Jane sighed again and sat down into a nearby folding chair, Clementine looked sadly down at AJ and rocked him slightly. "Maybe I shouldn't have turned those people away." She murmured quietly.

Jane looked up at Clementine and shook her head. "No Clem." she began. "We couldn't trust them, and even if we could we would just have run out of food faster." she reached out and rested her hand on Clem's shoulder. "You did the right thing, okay?"

After getting a silent nod from Clementine, Jane sighed and stood up and glanced around the hardware store, she turned to face Clementine and spoke. "I think it's time to go."

Clementine looked up at Jane and nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right." The hardware store had run it's course, they had maybe a week's worth of food left and while the greenhouse had helped to stretch out the food a little bit because there was only two of them, not counting the baby, they couldn't have someone to permanently tend to it, their was just too much else to do.

Jane nodded. "Right." She started to walk off in the direction of the armoury. "I'll go and get the rest of the weapons and ammo, well as much as we can carry at least. You go and get the food and medicine. Oh, and don't forget the formula!"

Clementine tilted her head into what might have been a nod as Jane walked off, Clementine sighed and walked deeper into the hardware store.

After climbing the stairs to Carver's office, Clementine entered the office and walked over to fancy crib she and Jane had found on their second day here, Carver had clearly been ready for a baby.

Frowning darkly at that thought, and not for the first time rejoicing in the face that Carver was dead. Clementine gently laid the baby down and quietly crept out off the office.

After walking up to the roof and clearing out the greenhouse, she went down to the area where they kept their food and medicine and went to go and get AJ.

After collecting the still sleeping baby, Clementine walked down to Howe's front entrance and smiled as she saw Jane standing there, one of the AK-47's slung over shoulder and a duffel bag at her feet. Jane turned to Clementine and gave a slight smile. "So, ready to go?"

Clementine looked down at AJ and then looked back the store before looking up at Jane and smiling. "Yeah, Let's get out of here."

With a nod Jane pushed open the doors and the little group of survivors walked out into the distances as the doors of Howe's swing shut for the final time.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

The Walking Dead

We Begin Again

Chapter 2

Clementine shivered as the cold wind blew through her, Howe's didn't have a calendar and even if it did she didn't think it would easy to tell what month it is but she did definitely think it was still winter.

Her attention was drawn by AJ whimper's, she had just fed him and changed him so it couldn't be that. It dawned on her that he was probably cold and thus cuddled him closer.

A crunching of branches drew Clementines attention, she shifted AJ in her arms and picked up her handgun and aimed it in to the trees. She lowered it as Jane, her arms loaded with firewood stepped into the clearing.

Jane smiled slightly and began to build a fire. After assembling it she drew out a pack of matches, and not for the first time thanking their good luck that Howe's had more than just food and medical supplies, opened the pack, took out a match, struck it and tossed the lit match in to the pit.

Within a few moments the fire was going strong.

Jane walked over to the log that Clementine was sitting on and sat down next to her. "How's he doing?" She asked.

"Not bad." Said Clementine as she looked down at AJ, who looked like he was starting to fall asleep. "A little cold, but he's a tough little guy, he'll be fine."

"Good, that's good" Said Jane as she pulled her knife out of her sheath and twirled it in her hands. She looked left and right scanning the tree line for any walkers, Clementine smiled as she watched Jane do this.

Jane caught Clementine looking at her and rasied an eyebrow. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing." Said Clementine with a shrug of her shoulders. "I'm…I'm just glad you're here is all." She said with a friendly smile.

"Really?" Said Jane with a smile of her own. "Not afraid I'm going to run out on you and leave you holding the baby?" She tilting her head down to AJ.

"You wouldn't do that, you like me way too much. Besides you wouldn't run out on little AJ." Said Clementine as a mocking grin crossed her face. "I saw you making funny faces to him yesterday."

"I did not!" Denied Jane.

"You did to! I saw you!" Clementine teased as she tried to hold back laughing.

"You are such a little…Oh! You know I can just tell you and Jamie would…" Jane stopped as she realised what she said and then looked down at her feet. 

Clementine reached out and placed her hand gently on Jane's shoulder, she didn't shrug her off which was an improvement. The Jane she meet months ago would probably give her a death glare if she tried to comfort her.

As Clementine found herself thinking back to those times she couldn't help but feel sad, almost all the people from that time were dead. Luke, Nick, Pete, Carlos, Sarah, Alvin, Rebecca, Sarita, Matthew, Walter…and Kenny.

Thinking of Kenny brought mixed feelings to Clementine, back with the motel group she and Kenny weren't very close. He was to busy protecting his family and the fact that Lee almost always sided with Lilly didn't help things.

But when she found him again at that ski lodge she clung to him, he brought back memories of Lee, and so she stuck by him. But as she spent time at the lodge something seemed off with Kenny and when he asked her to stay she really didn't know what to say, she didn't say yes because she had started to like the cabin group but on the other hand she didn't say no because, well she at least wanted to stay the night and if she was honest, she was scared of what Kenny's reaction would be.

Before she could sort any of it out Carver came and took them all hostage. And again Kenny seemed different, he always had a quick temper and he did rush into things without thinking them through but again he was different this time, before she got the feeling he would at least listen to someone when he told him it was a bad idea or at the very least he would think twice before endangering his family.

After they had escaped Carver's camp things had only gotten worse, Sarita was bitten and started to turn and Kenny was forced to take care of her. Clementine wondered if Kenny ever really came back from that or if they had already lost him by then.

He just started to get angry, angry at everything and everyone. And he put so much pressure on the rest of the group and when Arvo and his group ambushed them…

Even the mere thought of Arvo made Clementine feel so angry, it was his fault that group fell apart, indirectly or not. If his group had never attacked then Luke would never have gotten hurt, if Luke hadn't gotten hurt he wouldn't have fallen through the water and neither would Bonnie and they would both still be here and things might be different.

She couldn't help but wonder where Mike and Arvo were now. Clementine didn't blame Mike, Kenny was being very, very, very, very, very, very, very difficult if things were different she might have asked to go with them.

And then things got even worse, and she was forced to chose Kenny or Jane, and she choose Jane. The more she thought about it Clementine realised that while the fact she had to shoot Kenny to save Jane saddened her but it bothered her how easily she made the choice, no hesitation she just saw than Jane was in danger and that Kenny wouldn't listen to reason and then…bang.

Clementine sighed heavily and took her hand off Jane's shoulder. She suddenly felt far more sad then she had a moment ago. Just then another memory came to her, of her telling Luke to not think about it, Maybe it was time she started to take her own advice.

For the next hour or so all was quite as she and Jane stared into the fire.

And then as the fire started to die slightly a dark shape bust out of the nearby foliage.

Jane reacted almost instantly and jumped up from the log and brought her AK-47 to bear on the shape. Clementine wasn't quite as fast as she had to hold AJ close, get up carefully so as not to rattle him and bring her handgun up to aim at the shape but still for a maybe, near enough twelve year old girl it was a quite impressive display of reflexes.

"Who are you?" Asked Jane, the figure was breathing so it definitely wasn't a walker.

The figure tilted it's head up and for a moment Jane looked somewhat surprised.

"Shel?"

End of chapter two

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